This probably the shortest one-shot I've ever written. And it's in second person. Go figure. And of course, it's one that doesn't show Iroh in a favorable light. Hehe.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender
Blood On Your Fingers
When your niece looks at you with streaming eyes, her mouth sealed with a red ball clamped between her teeth, and her arms wrapped around her body with a tight straitjacket, you die a little inside. She growls when she sees you, after all these years, but you know it isn't you who she's looking at. She sees a traitor. A monster like her.
Perhaps she is right.
Perhaps you were wrong for taking Zuko, but not Azula. When you left, she had seemed so far gone. So unreachable. Ozai had rotted her through already, like a bad fruit. One spoiled the others. She had emanated the blackness that your brother seemed to radiate. Maybe she had a little of Ursa's light back then, before it had been stomped out. Not as much as Zuko, but it had been there. Maybe you could have kindled it. You had overlooked it, because you always did that.
Always.
When Ozai was young and oh-so-confused, so many years ago, he had reached out for you. You made the mistake of turning away. You overlooked it. And then, when Lu Ten and the small team of firebenders were clearing away the remnants of an old battle, looking for possible survivors and war prisoners, you had overlooked his cries for those of excitement. And now he was nothing but shattered bones and ashes. What a bad man you are.
Azula and Zuko were of the same blood. She had Roku in her, too. Maybe if you had tried to help her, too, she wouldn't be here, in the prison of her own shattered mind. Zuko had a scar on his face, but Azula had one on her mind. Which was worse? The mental wounds were far worse than the physical ones. Visible scars could be forgotten and ultimately overlooked. But the ones that were under the skin…those never faded. You know this.
Look what you've done to me! The fallen princess looks at you with accusing eyes. There is no madness in their depths, only a sorrow and pain so deep that you nearly drown in it. If you had helped me, too, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be here like an animal. But you always wanted a son, not a daughter, didn't you? You didn't help me. You just wanted to strike me down and put Zuko on the throne. Because he deserved to be there.
You look away.
And then you wonder why your nephew has more heart than you. You monster.